


Oh, Balls!

by coolbyrne



Series: The Neighbourhood Watch [6]
Category: NCIS
Genre: 12 Days of Slibbs, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:07:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21645748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolbyrne/pseuds/coolbyrne
Summary: A little afternoon fun in the snow. Slibbs
Relationships: Jethro Gibbs/Jacqueline "Jack" Sloane
Series: The Neighbourhood Watch [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1462729
Comments: 29
Kudos: 95
Collections: 12 Days of Slibbs





	Oh, Balls!

**Author's Note:**

> Look who's getting fluffy! My only excuse is that it's the holidays. :) This is part of the Slibbs Christmas prompts.   
> #1: Snowman building/snowball fight.

The bright December sun blazed down from a clear blue sky, reflecting off the snow like a million diamonds. Jack had corralled the neighbourhood kids (or was it the other way around?) into building a snowman across the street in Mrs. Quitely’s yard, and Gibbs had roped Nathan and his friend Justin into shovelling the driveway and surrounding sidewalk while he set up the Christmas lights on the house. Breaths billowed in the cold air as much as the laughter and the squeals. 

Gibbs carefully came down the ladder to gauge his work while thinking about what it all meant. It would be their first (official) Christmas together and the thought unexpectedly warmed him like hot chocolate. While his door had always been open to anyone who wanted to spend the holidays at his house, It had been an awfully long time since he really shared the holidays with-

_Say it, Marine. With someone you love._

He had just turned around to look at that ‘someone’ when he got it. Right in the chest. The snowball hit him with just enough force to break on contact but barely enough to register through Gibbs’ thick winter coat. What registered more was the giggle that came from across the street.

“Sorry, Mr. Gibbs!” 

He might have believed the apology if it hadn’t been squeezed between laughter, and he recognized the apologist immediately.

“Danny!” Met with another giggle- one that was mingled with another laugh he knew all too well -he warned, “I’ll revoke your badge!”

Knowing how much the young boy thought of the old NCIS badge he had been given, along with the title of ‘Junior Probie’, Gibbs figured it would be enough to nip the potential snowball fight in the bud. He was wrong. 

“Don’t listen to him, Danny,” came a familiar voice from behind a snowpile. “I’m friends with the boss. The real boss.”

Nathan looked up from his work. “You gonna take that, Mr. Gibbs?” His question was rewarded with a direct hit to the back of his head. “I didn’t know the Army could actually aim!” he shouted before diving over the snowbank his shovelling had created. 

“She was probably aimin’ for me,” Gibbs retorted, but knew well enough to get behind the fence that lined his lawn and just in time, as a snowball flew overhead.

Justin was smart enough to do the same. “I just wanted to make 20 bucks!” he shouted to anyone who could hear him. “I’m an innocent bystander!”

After that, it was a free-for-all. Nathan, Justin and Gibbs had the advantage of not having used up all the nearby ammunition to make a snowman, but Jack and Danny had the numbers, with at least 5 other kids enlisted. (Six if you counted 4 year old Nia who sat on top of a small snowpile sucking on an icicle.) Jack had obviously roped one or two of them into making the projectiles, because she was throwing them at an alarming rate.

“Don’t come cryin’ to me when your shoulder’s sore tomorrow!” Gibbs yelled through the fence before launching a snowball of his own. 

“Don’t come crying to me when you get your a-” She remembered her listening audience in time to catch her words. “Your bum handed to you by an Army vet and a bunch of middle-schoolers.”

Nia snorted a giggle on her perch. “You said ‘bum’!”

“Surrender and I’ll make hot chocolate,” Jack proposed with the street between them.

There was a lull as she spoke, and Justin used that moment to stand and launch 3 snowballs. “We don’t negotiate with terrorists!”

Gibbs imagined Jack’s expression was the same as his- slightly wide-eyed in disbelief. The young man shrugged. “Well, we don’t, do we?”

Gibbs chuckled. “No. No, we do not.” He was about to give a counter-offer when he held up his hand to the two teens. It had gotten quiet. Too quiet. Using only hand signals, Gibbs motioned around to the back of the house and mouthed the word ‘Danny’ to Nathan while Justin was given the order to throw and throw a lot. Both he and Justin launched snowball after snowball, covering Nathan who began crouch walking around the house. The squeals from the other side of the street were more from the deluge rather than the aim, but it was enough to keep them occupied until Nathan emerged from the back yard with a 7 year old under his arm.

“Gotcher boy!” he shouted in victory. Holding up Danny’s hat, he showed the contents. “Snowballs. Lots and lots of snowballs. Pretty sure this was supposed to be an ambush.”

“You’ll never take me alive!” Danny vowed, squirming under Nathan’s grip at his collar.

Gibbs laughed. “Okay, so here’s what’s gonna happen.” His voice carried across the street. “We give you Danny back and you make hot chocolate.”

Jack looked at Nia. “What are we going to say to that?”

“I like hot chocolate?”

“No, the other thing. What did Justin say?”

The girl’s face lit up in remembrance. “We don’t nogskate with terrists.”

“Close enough. What she said!” Jack yelled back.

“That’s a shame,” Gibbs said, “I’ve heard he’s got a tickle spot. Might need to check that out.”

Danny’s face blanched. “No! No tickling!” His squirm became more intense, but Nathan held tight.

“Once we finish with yer boy, we’re comin’ for Nia.”

Nia’s mouth dropped along with the icicle and she quickly hopped off her perch and began running home, shouting, “Noooooooooooo,” the entire way.

“Okay, so not Nia. Who wants to be tickled?” His question was met with a chorus of squeals. “And who wants hot chocolate?” The reply was a unanimous cheer. 

“Just so you know,” Jack said to her troops, “this is mutiny. As punishment, you’re not getting marshmallows, that’s all I’ve got to say about that.” Holding up her hands, she came out of her blind and said, “We surrender.”

“When you get to this side, we release the kid.” To the teens, Gibbs said, “Stay alert. Make sure she’s not carryin’.”

“I’m not carryin’,” she mimicked, her hands held high. “So suspicious.” 

She planted a kiss on his cheek to assuage his scrutiny. He was having none of it. He dipped his hands into her front pockets to check for snow. Checked her snowpants, front and back, much to her amusement.

“Really, Gibbs?” she whispered just loud enough for him to hear. “In front of the children?” He continued his search, pretending he didn’t hear her. “Satisfied?” she asked after he had run out of places to check. His smirk got him a wink and a private promise for later. To said children, she turned to see them assembled at the end of the walk. “Hot chocolate for everyone?” The piercing cheer made them both wince. “Okay. Asked and answered. I’m going to need some help. Danny?”

“On it!” He straightened his coat and ran up the steps into the house.

She followed him inside and when they reached the kitchen, she put the kettle on and held a finger to her lips. Having his attention, she opened the freezer door and gave him a high-five.

…..

After 5 minutes, Gibbs opened the door and called into the house, “What’s taking you two so long? The natives are gettin’ restless.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jack said, coming out of the kitchen with a tray and mugs. “Hold your horses, Cowboy. Take this; we’ll bring the rest.”

The minute he was out of sight with the tray, Jack reached into the freezer and handed Danny the snowball. 

“You sure he won’t be mad?”

She brushed his hair back from his forehead and smiled. “I promise.”

His grin was all she needed to see. Grabbing their mugs, she followed him to the door.

…..

He knew something was up, knew her well enough to know her surrender was too easy, knew his gut was trying to warn him. And now he knew it was too late. But maybe he knew and let it slide because he also knew the joy it would bring to the kids and more importantly, the smile it would bring to her face. He could almost see her eyes light up and the dimples form, and that’s why it was no surprise to feel the snowball hit the back of his head and no surprise that he let it happen. Sure enough, amid the kids’ laughter, he turned to Jack who was standing in the doorway, one hand on Danny’s shoulder, the other curled around a mug, her eyes flashing, a smile peeking out over the rim. The cold that trickled down his neck didn’t even register, though he felt compelled to pretend. 

“Sloane,” he slowly gritted out.

“Jethro?”

His eyes narrowed as the kids held their breaths. 

“Ya got ba-” Now it was his turn to remember their audience. “Ya got snowballs.” It didn’t quite have the same weight, and even the kids laughed, which, all being said, wasn’t so bad.

…..

-end


End file.
